Hall of fame
Meet the hairdressers and trendsetters who defined entire eras with their iconic cuts
Meet the stylists who defined entire eras with their iconic cuts
JEAN HARLOW AMERICAN 1911-37
The original blonde bombshell, actress Jean Harlow’s striking platinum blonde hair captivated audiences across America. It caused numerous women to reach for the dye in an attempt to recreate Harlow’s iconic colour, although she always maintained that her hair was natural. Her stylist, Alfred Pagano, later admitted that he used a combination of Clorox bleach, ammonia, peroxide and Lux soap flakes on a weekly basis to achieve her icy colour. It has been suggested that this toxic combination, which produces noxious gas, may have contributed to her early death from kidney failure, aged just 26.
LEÓNARD AUTIÉ FRENCH C.1751-1820
Lavishly decorated hairstyles were the hallmark of Léonard Autié. His “magical comb” caught the eyes of many Parisian noblewomen, but he is best remembered as Queen Marie Antoinette’s hairdresser. He created a number of unique and extravagant hairstyles for her, including the famous pouf, which became synonymous with her time as queen. Autié opened his own salon and hairdressing school, the Académie de coiffeur, in 1787, at a time when hairdressing was emerging as a real profession. While Marie Antoinette and many of the other women he styled lost their heads during the French Revolution, Autié escaped to Russia.
In 1791, Autié founded and managed the Italian opera company Théâtre de Monsieur alongside Monsieur, Comte de Provence
VIDAL SASSOON BRITISH 1928-2012
One of the most iconic hairstylists entered his career after a premonition from his mother that hairdressing was the right path for him. Vidal Sassoon’s sharp, geometric looks like the five-point cut catapulted him to fame during the 1960s. His hairstyles were easy to maintain and liberated women from the time-consuming hairdos that dominated the 1950s. Success led him to launch salons across London and the US, a product line and a series of training academies that still run to this day. His clients included Mia Farrow, Elizabeth Taylor and Mary Quant, making him one of the world’s first celebrity hairdressers.
KENNETH BATTELLE AMERICAN 1927-2013
Sassoon’s American counterpart, Kenneth Battelle, became famous for popularising soft, romantic looks devoid of thick hairspray and heavy bleaching. He created Jackie Kennedy’s signature bouffant to frame and enhance her features. Battelle even cut her hair the day before her husband, President John F Kennedy, was assassinated. Interestingly, Battelle came to the rescue of Marilyn Monroe when her hair began to fall out in 1958 after years of perms and bleaching. He styled her hair ahead of her infamous ‘Happy Birthday’ performance and for her last Vogue shoot, just a few weeks before her death.
Kenneth was the first and only hairdresser to ever win the Coty American Fashion Critics’ Award, which he won in 1961
“If you don’t look good, we don’t look good” Vidal Sassoon
LEONARD LEWIS BRITISH 1938-2016
It was thanks to Lewis that supermodel Twiggy got the cropped haircut that made her the face of the Swinging Sixties. Known professionally as ‘Leonard of Mayfair’, he had many famous clients like Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, The Beatles and even the Kray twins. In his London salon, the House of Leonard, he trained many of Britain’s current leading hairdressers, including John Frieda, Daniel Galvin and Nicky Clarke. Lewis is also noted for his work on a number of Stanley Kubrick films, which started in 1968. He was also a close friend of Vidal Sassoon, under whom he initially trained for a year.
JOSEPHINE BAKER AMERICAN 1906-75
Baker’s slicked down, Eton crop hairstyle helped her achieve stardom as an entertainer in 1920s Paris. She applied thick pomade to flatten her short hair to her head and created kiss curls on her forehead and in front of her ears. In the 1930s, she brought out a hair gel, Bakerfix, so that women could emulate her signature look. Baker’s hair was so iconic that it has gone down in history as a symbol of the Jazz Age.
FRANÇOIS MARCEL GRATEAU FRENCH 1852-1936
Grateau changed the world of hairstyling forever when he invented the reverse curling iron in 1872. The ‘Marcel Wave’, achieved with Marcel’s curling iron, rose to its peak popularity during the 1920s and 30s as it proved easier to achieve and lasted longer than finger waves. A skilled hairdresser was needed to use the iron, which was typically heated over a gas burner, because it was too difficult for women to accomplish the desired waves on herself.
BRIGITTE BARDOT FRENCH 1934-PRESENT
Bardot’s glamorous, dishevelled half-up, half-down beehive was just one of her classic looks that defined the 1960s. From pigtails and braids to headbands and teased hair, her influence on hair trends was profound. To this day, the cultural impact that she has made can still be seen as women continue to emulate her hairstyles. Numerous articles can be found with how-to guides on how to achieve her iconic hairstyles.
MADAM CJ WALKER AMERICAN 1867-1919
Walker’s hair care line, aimed at African-american women, revolutionised the way black women cared for their hair. Widowed at the age of 20, Walker began to lose her hair and she sought a way to encourage hair growth. The result was the ‘Walker system’, which focused on scalp preparation and lotions coupled with hot iron combs to create smooth, shiny hair. Her system proved extremely popular and she became one of the most successful African-american business owners of all time.
Baker was an agent for the French Resistance during WWII, using her sheet music to send secret messages written in invisible ink
Madam CJ Walker was not only America’s first self-made female millionaire, but the first black millionairess in the world
MAX FACTOR SR POLISH 1872-1938
Maksymilian Faktorowicz, commonly known as Max Factor Sr, was a pioneer for the modern cosmetics industry. He is famous for the Pan-cake foundation he created for Hollywood, as the arrival of Technicolor made traditional greasepaint look terrible. Noticing how popular it was with actresses, his son convinced him to sell Pan-cake to the public, therefore becoming the first commercially available foundation. It is still sold today, although Factor never saw how successful it became as he died the same year it was released.
In 1920, Factor coined the term ‘makeup’ as in to ‘make up ones face.’ Until this point, makeup had been associated with the theatre